1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly to a door lock mechanism with a duct for a microwave oven for providing an air passageway and performing mechanical operations such as engagement of the microwave oven door and electrical operations such as electrical switching.
2. Prior Art
In general, microwave ovens are classified into a microwave oven with a single function and a microwave oven with multiple functions, each having a cooking cavity and an electronic component compartment surrounded by a housing. The electronic component compartment has a magnetron therein from which the electromagnetic wave energy is generated and controlled for the cooking process. The single function microwave oven cooks food by energy of microwaves generated from the magnetron. The multiple functions microoven cooks food by the energy of microwaves and heat of a heater mounted in the electronic component compartment.
One side of the housing of the microwave is provided with intake/outlet holes for intaking and outletting air. Further, a duct is mounted inside the housing. The duct provides a passageway for guiding air inside the housing. The duct is, in general, mounted just beside the magnetron. A blower fan is mounted behind the magnetron. The blower fan cools heating components such as the magnetron. At this time, air which cools the heating components flows into the cooking cavity along the passageway of the duct.
In the meantime, one edge of the door of a microwave oven is hinged on the microwave oven, rotatably fixing to the microwave to thereby open and close the cooking cavity of the microwave. Door hooks are protruded from the other edge of the door. The door hooks enable the door to remain closed through engagement with a microwave oven component when the door is closed. The front panel is provided with a door hook release button. When the door is closed, pressing the door hook release button causes the door to be opened.
A door lock mechanism with a duct, which is used for the microwave oven, has a duct for providing a passageway to guide air and for performing certain mechanical and electrical operations according to engagement of the door with the door hooks as well as to pressing/releasing the door hook release button. Detailed descriptions of the structure and interrelationship of the components of the microwave oven are omitted since they can be easily understood in view of a general microwave oven.
FIG. 1 is a view for showing a conventional door lock mechanism with a duct for a microwave oven. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional door lock mechanism with a duct 10 has a lock section 12 and a duct section 14. The lock section 12 performs mechanical operations such as its engagement with the door hooks and electrical operations such as electrical switching in association with the door hooks and the door hook release button. The duct section 14 provides an air passageway for guiding air inside the microwave oven. The lock section 12 has a first lock part 12a, link bar part 12b and a second lock part 12c. The first lock part 12a has a first hook engagement hole 12aa for accommodating a first hook of the microwave oven door in order for the first hook to be engaged with the first lock part 12a. The first lock part 12a performs electrical switching operations necessary for a normal microwave oven operation when the first hook is engaged with the first hook engagement hole 12aa. The second lock part 12c has a second hook engagement hole 12cc for accommodating a second hook of the microwave oven door in order for the second hook to be engaged with the second lock part 12c. The second lock part 12c performs electrical switching operations necessary for a normal microwave oven operation in association with the engagement of the first hook when the second hook is engaged with the second hook engagement hole 12cc. The link bar part 12b connects the first lock part 12a with the second lock part 12c. That is, one end of the link bar part 12b is connected with the bottom of the first lock part 12a, and the other end of the link bar part 12b is connected with the top of the second lock part 12c. In the door lock mechanism with a duct as shown in FIG. 2, the first lock part 12a, the link bar part 12b and the second lock part 12c may be formed in one body.
However, since the conventional door lock mechanism with a duct 10 has the first hook engagement hole 12aa and the second hook engagement hole 12cc with a distance fixed therebetween, the door lock mechanism with a duct 10 can be employed in a microwave oven having a door with the first and the second hooks having the same distance as that between the first and the second hook engagement holes 12aa and 12cc. That is, the door lock mechanism with a duct 10 with the distance between the first and the second hook engagement holes 12aa and 12cc fixed may be used only for a microwave oven of a certain size.
Therefore, since the door lock mechanism with a duct should be different according to different sizes, or heights in another point of view, of microwave ovens is different, the door lock mechanism with a duct should be newly manufactured whenever the size of a microwave oven is changed. In general, different sizes of microwave ovens have different distances between the first and the second door hooks.